Now that J.J. Watt is out for the rest of the season, Von Miller is the odds on favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year.
Von Miller is a freak.
We already knew this, but he’s jumped a level this year. I mean, people are making Lawrence Taylor comparisons and it feels fairly appropriate. He’s either knocking three hundred pound men over like they’re bowling pins or teleporting past them into the backfield on nearly every play.
Offensive coordinators create entire gameplans centered around getting the hell away from him. He has produced one of the greatest three game stretches any player, offensive or defensive, in the history of the Denver Broncos.
Von is on pace for 26 sacks. The NFL record is 22.5 by Michael Strahan, and one will forever be fraudulent.
— Best Posts (@onlygoodposts1) September 28, 2016
Miller was Pro Football Focus’ highest rated player at his position when he single handedly beat Indianapolis, and again last week in Cincinnati.
Shane Ray reached the quarterback more, but only because the Bengals devoted half the city to stopping #58, as Gary Kubiak plainly stated, “It was obvious that they were trying to keep Von off of their quarterback.’’
PFF wrote of his performance in Cincinnati:
It’s a testament to his dominance that a one-sack, five-total-pressure day for Von Miller feels somehow underwhelming, and represents essentially his career-average game. What is average for Miller, though, is good enough to lead the league most weeks. That was the case in Week 3, with Miller’s grade getting him on the team of the week as the highest-graded edge rusher.
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Von is basically a soldier in 300, bursting through a constant stream of double and triple teams. The utter devastation he rains down upon opponents evokes images of another transcendent superstar on a superteam, as he told Jeff Legwold:
“That’s OK, it’s part of it. My thing is, rush the passer, and I have to find a way to do it no matter how many blockers are in front of me. Steph Curry doesn’t complain about double teams, he finds a way to get the shot off. So I’ll just keep rushing and let them try to deal with everybody else and make some opportunities too.’’
With J.J. Watt now down for the year, Miller is the odds on favorite to win DPOY.
Aaron Donald is likely his biggest competitor. If you’re not familiar with Los Angeles’ newest terror, he’s basically what would happen if Warren Sapp had a baby with a can of Fourloko.
— Best Posts (@onlygoodposts1) September 29, 2016
However, rushing up the middle limits the number of sacks one can get, and if Von is going to reach 20, that number will be hard to scrub out of the voters’ minds, no matter how much havoc Donald creates on the interior.
Tyrann Mathieu, Luke Kuechly, Harrison Smith, Linval Joseph, Khalil Mack, Richard Sherman, Patrick Peterson, and Malcolm Jenkins all look like they will be in the mix, but this is Von’s award to lose now. His Pro Football Reference page likens his career at year three to Jack Lambert and Ray Lewis in year four.
Those two possess a modest 22 combined Pro Bowl selections, 6 championships, and 2 busts in the Hall of Fame.
Von already has 4 Pro Bowls, and at this rate, merely needs to remain upright to earn his fifth. He adds one title, and has a section in Canton on reserve. J.J. Watt is one of the few defensive players also with a reservation in the Hall of Fame, and he was the only defender regarded to be superior to the reigning Super Bowl MVP.
Given the staggering amount of talent around him, Von Miller should be able to produce numbers which will make him unimpeachable to voters, bringing home Denver’s first Defensive Player of the Year award since Randy Gradishar in 1978.